Environment and Urbanization

http://eau.sagepub.com Book Notes

Environment and Urbanization 2004; 16; 231 DOI: 10.1177/095624780401600118 The online version of this article can be found at: http://eau.sagepub.com

Published by:
http://www.sagepublications.com

On behalf of:

International Institute for Environment and Development

Additional services and information for Environment and Urbanization can be found at: Email Alerts: http://eau.sagepub.com/cgi/alerts Subscriptions: http://eau.sagepub.com/subscriptions Reprints: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.nav Permissions: http://www.sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav

Downloaded from http://eau.sagepub.com by on November 1, 2008

Book Notes

Book Notes Book Notes gives short descriptions of recently published books, papers and reports on all subjects relevant to the environment and development. Priority is given to items produced by research groups and NGOs in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Book Notes also includes short descriptions of newsletters and journals. Send us a copy of any publication you would like included; we produce Book Notes of publications in English, Spanish, French or Portuguese. Enclose details on prices for those ordering from abroad, and how payment should be made. The Book Notes in this issue are grouped under the following headings: I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. XII. XIII. Building Management Demography Evictions Fiction on Urban Areas Governance Health Housing Poverty and Poverty Reduction Research RuralUrban Sustainable Development Transport Urban a. Urban change b. Urban conservation c. Urban form Water and Sanitation
Environment&Urbanization Vol 16 No 1 April 2004

XIV.

Downloaded from http://eau.sagepub.com by on November 1, 2008

231

Book Notes

I. BUILDING MANAGEMENT
Tendering of New Small and Mediumsized Institutional Buildings
Tor Forsman, 2003, 14 pages, ISSN 1100-9446. Published by and available from Housing, Development and Management (HDM), Lund University, Box 118, S-221 00 LUND, Sweden; email hdm@lth.se; web site: http://www.hdm.lth.se

THIS REPORT, ONE of a series supported by Sida and produced by HDM at Lund University, is drawn primarily from the author s experience as both a planner and builder in Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya and Jerusalem. Although the title suggests that the focus is just on the tendering phase of the construction process, in fact the report looks at the whole building process, from the initial briefing stage to the final inspection. This is a brief document and nothing is covered in detail but it outlines the issues that should be taken into consideration in identifying needs, translating these into a building programme, developing a contract, dealing with budgeting issues, managing the construction process and providing the instructions necessary to ensure for proper use and maintenance. Four important recommendations are outlined: the need for good communication among all parties, the need for good clear documents, attention to the local culture, and a clear division of responsibility. The booklet includes a checklist of steps for each part of the process, and a brief bibliography of practical resources.

II. DEMOGRAPHY
Cities Transformed: Demographic Change and its Implications in the Developing World
Mark R Montgomery, Richard Stren, Barney Cohen and Holly E Reed (editors), 2003, 518 pages, ISBN 0-309-08862-3. In the USA, published and available from the National Academics Press, 500 Fifth Street, NW, Lockbox 285, Washington DC 20055; in Europe, published by and available from Earthscan Publications, 812 Camden High Street, London NW1 0JH, UK; e-mail: earthinfo@earthscan.co.uk; web site: www.earthscan.co.uk

areas (is city life good for your health?); the urban economy and its implications for the urban labour force; and, finally, the challenge of urban governance. One key theme of the book is the need for demographers to pay more attention to urban change and the marshalling of evidence to show why. After an introduction explaining its aims and objectives, the book discusses why location matters, especially the ways in which urban environments can influence demographic behaviour. It reminds the reader of what should be obvious individuals and families (demographic decision makers) are embedded in social contexts that influence their decisions, and this implies the need to understand the influence on such decisions of urban homes and neighbourhoods and of their labour markets and social organizations. Chapter 3 discusses the regional and global networks of trade, finance and information within which cities are located, and the scale and nature of urban growth. This is followed by a discussion of urban population dynamics, which includes a review of what Demographic and Health Survey data tell us about fertility, mortality, migration and urban age structure. Chapter 5 examines social and economic diversity within urban areas. This includes documenting the multiple dimensions of urban poverty, and how urban poverty differs from rural poverty; it also discusses how basic service provision in urban areas varies according to city size. Chapters 6 and 7 discuss in detail what is known about fertility and reproductive health and morbidity and mortality among urban populations. Chapter 8 discusses the urban economy and its labour force from the demographic perspective. Chapter 9 discusses the challenges to national and local governments of rapid urban change, illustrated with short case studies of Rio de Janeiro, So Paulo, Manila, Abidjan and Mexico City. The book concludes with recommendations and a discussion of the new directions needed if demographic research is to contribute to addressing the problems so often associated with rapid urban change. Youth Explosion in Developing World Cities
Blair A Ruble, Joseph S Tulchin, Diana H Varat with Lisa M Hanley, 2003, 139 pages. Published by and available from Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington DC 20004, USA; web site: www.wilsoncenter.org.

THIS BOOK WAS prepared by a panel formed by the US National Research Council to provide a better understanding of the dynamics of urban population growth and its causes and consequences in low- and middle-income countries. It focuses on six main areas: urban population dynamics and city growth (and why location matters); social and economic differentiation within and across cities; fertility and reproductive health in urban areas; mortality and morbidity in urban

THIS BOOK IS a collection of papers presented by experts and practitioners at a forum on urban youth, poverty and conflict, sponsored by the Comparative Urban Studies Project at the Woodrow Wilson Center, and focused on giving youth greater priority on the policy agenda. The papers cover a variety of issues and challenge many traditional assumptions. Part I looks at demo-

232

Environment&Urbanization Vol 16 No 1 April 2004

Downloaded from http://eau.sagepub.com by on November 1, 2008

Book Notes
graphic shifts and conflict in an urban age, exploring issues of inequality, conflict, unemployment and informal education, and the challenge of integrating alienated young people into urban society. Part II deals with the issue of youth unemployment and describes a number of programmes that aim to include young people in the labour market, looking at them as an asset rather than a problem. The critical role of local government in improving opportunities for youth in the formal economy is discussed, and the need for policy makers to come to terms with todays realities. Part III concentrates on street children, the challenges they face and the need for alternative ways of working with them. This section concludes with a paper on urban youth in Russia.

IV. FICTION ON URBAN AREAS

Brick Lane
Monica Ali, 2004, 496 pages, ISBN: 0552771155. Published by and available from Black Swan, London.

III. EVICTIONS
How Poor People Deal with Evictions
Asian Coalition for Housing Rights, 2003, 48 pages. Housing by People, Number 15, October, Asian Coalition for Housing Rights, Bangkok. Published by and available from the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights, 73 Soi Sonthiwattana 4, Ladprao Road Soi 110, Bangkok 10310, Thailand; e-mail:achr@loxinfo.co.th; web site: www.achr.net

THIS PUBLICATION BY the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights focuses on how poor people deal with eviction. The articles cover a number of issues, including investigating the causes of eviction; dealing with different forms of eviction; and exploring ways to prevent poor communities from losing their homes. A lot is shown to depend on the active engagement of households at risk in a constructive dialogue with municipalities, often with help from CBOs and/or NGOs. This publication includes a variety of stories about communities negotiating alternatives to eviction. Over time there has been a remarkable change in how community organizations deal with the issue. Rather than being defensive and reacting only when eviction is about to happen, they are becoming more proactive, and developing realistic alternatives long before eviction becomes an issue. Such work requires a change in the relationship between the different actors in the city, most importantly between the poor and their municipalities. This publication shows how this has been done and how it can continue in the future through a process of preparation, dialogue and solution-building to develop long-term secure housing. It includes examples from India, the Philippines, Indonesia, Beijing, Malaysia, Thailand, Pakistan, Cambodia, South Africa, Japan and Zimbabwe, presenting strategies and tools that have been developed and applied in response to specific local circumstances.

THIS BOOK FOLLOWS the life of Nazneen, a woman born into a Bangladeshi village. At the age of 18, she is sent to England in an arranged marriage with a 40-yearold man who works for the local council. There, she must come to terms with her mothers death, regain a relationship with her sister and find her own future. The author paints a picture of life in the East End of London. She describes the friends that Nazneen makes and the other people who emerge to play a part in her life and that of her husband. There is Mrs Islam, who lends money at usurious rates; Dr Azad who appears as all-powerful but whom they discover with shock to have a very untraditional Bengali family; and Razia who, like Nanzeen, is young but slightly more assimilated into the English way of life. From her flat on a council estate, Nazneen follows the story of her sister, who ran away to Dhaka in a love marriage in Bangladesh, only to leave her husband when he beat her. As Nazneen raises her two children in England, so she begins to find new opportunities for herself. She lives with her husband and his growing frustration with the discrimination he encounters in his council job. She accepts her role as wife but begins to look for something more. Work as a seamstress when her husband is out driving leads to an affair with the man who brings the material. Karim is actively involved in establishing a group for Muslim rights and culture, and the antiracist politics of the 1990s become a further medium to explore Nazneens own emerging identity. This book has been the subject of some controversy for the accuracy of the picture it draws of this migrant community. The author argues that this is simply a fictional story of one womans life and her search for identity and belonging.

V. GOVERNANCE
International Symposium on Government, Governance and Urban Territories in Southern Africa
University of Zambia, Lusaka 2122 November 2001, edited by Dr Mark C Mulenga, UNZA and Pr. Alain Dubresson, University of Paris X. A copy of this may be obtained from Professor Dubresson; e-mail him at Alain.dubresson @u-paris10.fr

THIS VOLUME OFFERS 15 papers exploring aspects of urban change in Southern Africa. As noted in the title the common thread is that of government and governance, and the collection begins with an
Environment&Urbanization Vol 16 No 1 April 2004

Downloaded from http://eau.sagepub.com by on November 1, 2008

233

Book Notes
overview paper exploring the meaning of these terms in this regional context. The papers that follow are divided into three sections: local authorities, urban policies and economic dimensions of urban management; local authorities, urban policies and territorial equity focusing on urban services; and politico-territorial restructuring and urban transformation. Reflecting this division, there is a particular focus on issues such as land, infrastructure and services, and the challenges of urban planning. Most of the papers examine a particular city or town in some detail. The individual cities discussed include Cape Town (SA), Durban (SA), Chipata (Zambia), Windhoek (Namibia), Harare (Zimbabwe) and Port Shepstone (SA). In some cases, the same city is analysed by a number of authors writing individually. Together, the papers in this collection offer varied and detailed insights into the challenges facing urban development in this region. While there are few answers, there is a wealth of understanding from a part of the world in which citizens are struggling to realize their needs far from the centres of economic power. Realigning Actors in an Urbanizing World: Governance and Institutions from a Development Perspective
I S A Baud, and J Post (editors), 2002, 425 pages, ISBN: 0 7546 3386 1. Published by and available from Ashgate Publishing Ltd, Gower House, Croft Road, Aldershot, Hants GU11 3HR, UK; in the USA, Ashgate Publishing Ltd, Suite 420, 101 Cherry Street, Burlington, VT 05401-4405; http://www.ashgate.com.

Urban Development, looks at various approaches to local management and includes chapters on the Healthy Cities Programme initiated by the WHO, decentralization and participation in urban centres in Bolivia, and partnerships in dealing with solid waste management in Ghana and India. Part III, Livelihood, Rural-Urban Linkages and Regional Development, considers such themes as global homogenization and local differentiation, the exclusion of people and localities, the social and economic relations within rural-urban linkages, the concept of sustainable livelihoods, and new approaches to regional development planning. The final part, Urban Poverty Reduction: Mapping the Policy Arena, looks at policy and action on urban poverty. Contributors point to the need to move away from traditional anti-poverty policies to more flexible, diversified approaches. The constraints faced by aid agencies in tackling urban poverty are considered and the diversity of options available to local governments for combating poverty are discussed, with an emphasis on the importance of strengthening the informal sector and improving urban services. Participatory Processes for Policy Change
IIED, 2003, 98 pages. PLA notes Participatory Learning and Action, No 46, IIED, London. The printed edition can be obtained from http://earthprint.com/ for US$9; an electronic edition may be obtained at no charge from http://www.iied.org/

THE EXTENT OF change in conventional development models in recent decades is remarkable. In the 1960s and 1970s, government was considered to have the main role in progress towards development. By the 1990s, development was viewed as a common challenge to government, the private sector and civil society. At present, government is seen more as an enabler, an intermediary working with various agencies and organizations in different forms of partnership aimed at urban and regional development, in an attempt to alleviate poverty through collective action. This book is a compilation of contributions from policy makers, practitioners and academics. The first part, Urban Economics and the LocalGlobal Interface, focuses on cities as the engine of economic development and looks at the external relations of urban economies, as well as the diversity of activities within the spatial confines of a city. It covers such topics as competition and public policy, the advantages of cities in terms of human and financial capital, infrastructure and communication systems, the influence of local actors on economic prosperity, and approaches to supporting increased integration with globalized markets. The second part, Local Government, Partnerships and

PLA NOTES (NOTES on Participatory Learning and Action) is a journal published by the International Institute of Environment and Development three times a year, and it presents papers by practitioners and field workers on participatory methodologies from all over the world. It reflects and shares various experiences, innovations and obstacles encountered in the field. Its informal quality encourages frank opinions and discussion. Number 46 (February 2003) is a special issue presenting material generated during an e-forum set up for discussion after the publication of Prajateerpu: A Citizens Jury/Scenario Workshop on Food and Farming Futures for Andhra Pradesh, India. The focus was the necessity for both policy and action-oriented research to consider and incorporate the views of all those who are affected. The pieces on Prajateerpu were contributed by a number of practitioners, who voiced their concerns and opinions and discussed this type of grassroots development approach with respect to the methodology used and the credibility, transparency and accountability of government and other concerned agencies in incorporating the voices of the poor into policy planning. A more general section of this issue covers a range of topics including AIDS in Myanmar, womens welfare through participatory methods, and the assessment of

234

Environment&Urbanization Vol 16 No 1 April 2004

Downloaded from http://eau.sagepub.com by on November 1, 2008

Book Notes
participatory methods in promoting cultural heritage in New Zealand. Urban Environment Management: Local Government and Community Action
Archana Ghosh (editor), 2003, 336 pages, ISBN: 8180690407. Published by and available from Concept Publishing Company, A/1516, Commercial Block, Mohan Garden, New Delhi, 110 059, India.

RAPID GROWTH IN urbanization and industrialization in low- and middle-income nations brings about deterioration in the environmental status of urban centres. There has been urgency in recent years in managing environmental degradation and reducing its impact on health, productivity and the quality of life. This book is the outcome of an international conference held in Kolkata (Calcutta) in November 2001. It provides insights into the environmental problems plaguing urban areas from a cross-country perspective, and discusses the management and implementation of environmental policies by local municipalities and civil society organizations, as well as participation by communities. Contributors to the book are involved in different agencies, providing perspectives that reinforce the significance of partnerships between local government and the community in urban environmental manage-

ment for sustainable development. The book has two parts. Part I describes urban environment management and the role of local government, NGOs and community initiatives, stressing the importance of grassroots democracy for sustainable urban settlements in the future. Part II consists of a number of case studies which illustrate a range of circumstances that can affect environmental management. These include discussions of environmental improvement for the urban poor in Andhra Pradesh, the role of community in solid waste management in Dhaka, and the influence of the political context on community participation in Sri Lanka.

VI. HEALTH
Population and Health Dynamics in Nairobis Informal Settlements
APHRC, 2002, 256 pages. This is published by and available from the African Population and Health Research Center, PO Box 10787, 00100 GPO, Nairobi, Kenya; e-mail: info@aphrc.org; website: http://www.aphrc.org

THIS IS A detailed report and analysis of findings from a household survey from a representative sample of the inhabitants of Nairobis informal settlements carried out in 2000. It reports on the demographic and health problems facing this population which represents

Table 1:

Mortality rates for infants and young children in the informal settlements of Nairobi
Neonatal mortality rate 30.4 Post-neonatal mortality rate 60.9 Infant Under-five mortality mortality rate 91.3 150.6 Prevalence of diarrhoea* 30.8 Prevalence of diarrhoea with blood* 11.3

Location

Nairobi informal settlements (average) Nairobi informal settlements in: Central Makadara Kasarani Embakasi Pumwani Westlands Dagoretti Kibera National** Rural** Nairobi** Other urban**

24.5 34.1 19.2 111.1 16.3 23.1 0.0 35.1 28.4 30.3 21.8 16.9

43.5 52.2 58.2 52.5 56.3 79.9 35.0 71.1 45.3 45.7 16.9 39.8

68.0 86.3 77.4 163.6 72.6 103.0 35.0 106.2 73.7 75.9 38.7 56.6

123.1 142.7 124.5 254.1 134.6 195.4 100.3 186.5 111.5 113.0 61.5 83.9

34.6 20.4 30.8 27.6 26.7 30.4 26.0 36.9 17.1 17.1 12.9 19.4

13.6 40.0 9.2 9.1 12.5 12.2 10.5 9.8 3.0 3.1 3.4 1.7

* Percentage of children under three years of age with watery diarrhoea and diarrhoea with blood during the two weeks preceding the survey. ** Based on the 1998 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey.
Downloaded from http://eau.sagepub.com by on November 1, 2008

Environment&Urbanization Vol 16 No 1 April 2004

235

Book Notes
around half of Nairobis two million or so inhabitants. It was designed to provide data that was comparable to the 1998 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, and thus to show how conditions in these informal settlements compare with those for the rest of Kenyas population. It presents detailed findings on the demographic, economic and social characteristics of households (including fertility levels and factors that influence these, infant and child mortality, maternal and child health, HIV/AIDs and other sexually transmitted diseases and social and health profiles of adolescents). The findings demonstrate just how poor the living conditions and health outcomes can be among the poorer populations of large cities and how these can be hidden by aggregate statistics for cities. Aggregated statistics for Nairobi, for instance, for infant or child mortality rates, are significantly lower than the national average or the rural average, but this is largely because of the concentration of middle- and upper-income groups within Nairobi. The table on the previous page shows just how high infant and child mortality rates are in Nairobis informal settlements. This report is an example of a new generation of household surveys that focus on particular cities to show the scale of deprivation and disadvantage within them and who is most affected. process of urbanization that leads to problems of slums. It discusses official and unofficial definitions of slums and poverty based on such indicators as income, household size, urban growth and types of tenure. The second part deals with the socioeconomic dimension and dynamics of the slums. It analyses the conditions of the formation of slums in the national and local context, and the types and characteristics of slums with regard to location, age and population size. The last section studies new development policies and responses for improving slum conditions, alleviating poverty, and achieving cities without slums in the long term. The report concludes with recommendations for increased transparency and accountability, and for policies which must be formulated in order to achieve the universal goal. The book is supported by informative graphics, case studies and statistical data to illustrate and demonstrate various statements and facts. A Possible Way Out: Formalizing Housing Informality in Egyptian Cities
Ahmed M Soliman, 2004, 289 pages, ISBN: 0 7618 2702 1. Published by and available from the University Press of America, 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706, USA; in the UK, PO Box 317, Oxford OX2 9RU, UK, web site: www.univperess.com.

VII. HOUSING
The Challenge of Slums: Global Report on Human Settlements 2003
UNHabitat, 2003. Published by and available from Earthscan Publications, 812 Camden High Street, London NW1 0JH, UK; e-mail: earthinfo@earthscan.co.uk; web site: www.earthscan.co.uk; also available in bookstores; price: 25; in USA, 22883 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA 20166-2012, USA.

THE UNITED NATIONS expects that the number of slum dwellers in the world will increase from its present 924 million to about 2 billion in the next 30 years. The United Nations Millennium Declaration addresses this problem, setting the target of achieving significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by the year 2020. This objective is not just about solving the housing situation of the slum dwellers but also includes responses to poverty, unemployment and access to basic services. This report discusses the development goals to be prioritized and identifies approaches to achieving the target. It presents global estimates for the number of slum dwellers, discusses local and national factors underlying the formation of these slums, their economic and social dynamics and the chief policies and approaches to dealing with slums. The first part of the report outlines the Millennium Development Agenda and provides background on the

THIS BOOK DESCRIBES a comparative study on informal housing areas in three Egyptian cities Cairo, Alexandria and Tanta as part of an effort to suggest alternative approaches to legalizing, integrating and improving informal housing in Egypt. Informal housing is considered here as a significant asset in the effort to improve the economic status of the poor but also as a valuable factor contributing to the national economic situation. The book opens with an introduction to a range of concepts and issues it discusses distinctions between slums and squatter settlements; the history of the notion of the informal sector; typologies of informal housing; and gives an overview of land provision in Egypt. This background provides the context for considering the six case studies (two from each of the selected cities). First, the broad patterns of growth in each of the cities is considered, along with the development of informal housing for the poor. Current housing policies are discussed, and the fact that, although there is a huge public housing programme in Egypt, this has, perhaps predictably, failed to produce affordable housing for the poor. The factors that contribute to informal development in each city are described in some detail, along with the processes of land invasion and the complex and diverse forms that informal housing development takes. This can range from semi-informal housing for which owners have legal tenure, to ex-formal settlements that may have been modified over time in illegal ways, or which may have confused tenure status, to squatter

236

Environment&Urbanization Vol 16 No 1 April 2004

Downloaded from http://eau.sagepub.com by on November 1, 2008

Book Notes
settlements with a range of different levels of illegality and insecurity. The author describes the gradually more accommodating attitude of the Egyptian government to informal housing after decades spent trying to eradicate it. Various kinds of partnership are described and reviewed: partnership between the public and private sectors in land provision for housing the urban poor; partnerships in tackling cost-recovery for housing projects; and partnerships in simplifying building procedures and in dealing with land transactions and registration. The author argues that, for a number of reasons, formalizing informal housing areas is critical to improving the operation of urban land markets. Following de Soto (who wrote the foreword for this book), he stresses that informal assets remain hidden capital that lacks value for securing loans, and that formalized titles are critical to opening the doors to credit. detailed case studies of innovative government organizations (in Thailand, Mexico, Philippines and Nicaragua) and community-driven processes (in India, South Africa, Pakistan and Brazil) that show new ways to address urban poverty. These include some wellknown examples for instance, the work of SPARC, the National Slum Dwellers Federation and Mahila Milan in India, of the Community Organizations Development Institute in Thailand, the Local Development Programme (PRODEL) in Nicaragua, the Community Mortgage Programme in the Philippines and the Homeless Peoples Federation in South Africa. The case studies suggest that reducing poverty is as much about building or strengthening competent, accountable local organizations as it is about attempting to improve incomes. Poverty reduction is also about strengthening the organizations formed by the poor or homeless, so that they are more accountable to their members and more able to develop their own solutions, with a greater capacity to negotiate better deals with the agencies or institutions that are meant to deliver infrastructure, services, credit and land for housing. Supporting these objectives also means increasing the possibilities of meeting the Millennium Development Goals within urban areas, and the book includes a discussion of how international agencies can best meet these goals. The Underestimation of Urban Poverty in Low- and Middle-income Nations
David Satterthwaite, 2004,IIED Working Paper 14 on Poverty Reduction in Urban Areas, IIED, London. The printed edition can be obtained from http://earthprint.com/ for US$9; an electronic edition may be obtained at no charge from http://www.iied.org/urban/index.html

VIII. POVERTY AND POVERTY REDUCTION

Empowering Squatter Citizen: The Roles of Local Governments and Civil Society in Reducing Urban Poverty
Diana Mitlin and David Satterthwaite (editors), 2004. Published by and available from Earthscan, 812 Camden High Street, London NW1 0JH, UK; e-mail: earthinfo@earthscan.co.uk; web site: www.earthscan.co.uk; in the USA, 22883 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA 20166-2012, USA.

THIS BOOK SUGGESTS that one of the key underpinnings of urban poverty is the failure of national governments and international agencies to support local organizations (governmental, non-governmental and grassroots) that can work with the urban poor to address their deprivations. Urban poverty in Africa, Asia and Latin America has grown rapidly over the last 50 years, even though most new investments and job opportunities have been in urban areas. Most cities have between 30 and 60 per cent of their population living in poor quality accommodation in tenements or informal settlements. At least 700 million urban dwellers lack safe, sufficient water supplies; even more lack adequate toilets. The deprivations associated with urban poverty are experienced locally hunger, premature death, serious illness and injuries that come from living in shacks with no infrastructure or basic services, the difficulties (and often high costs) of keeping children at school, the long hours worked, often in dangerous conditions, for inadequate incomes. For many, there is also the constant risk of eviction from their homes and of other forms of violence. These problems cannot be addressed without local changes. This book makes the case for redirecting support to local organizations and processes. At its core are eight

THIS PAPER DISCUSSES the limitations in the incomebased poverty lines that are widely used to define poverty and measure urban poverty in Africa, Asia and Latin America. This includes a discussion of whether the poverty lines defined by international agencies and national governments are set at levels that are realistic in relation to the costs of living in the larger/more prosperous/more expensive cities and the prices that the urban poor have to pay for essential non-food items. It also includes a discussion of what poverty definitions based only on income fail to take account of with regard to identifying deprivation and to helping inform poverty reduction policies and practices. This paper assembles data from many empirical studies that suggest that the scale and depth of urban poverty is systematically underestimated in most of the official statistics produced or used by governments and international agencies. Among the reasons for this are: The over-concentration on income-based poverty lines with little or no attention to other aspects of deprivation, especially inadequate, overcrowded and insecure housing; inadequate provision for water, sanitation, drainage and basic services such as health
Environment&Urbanization Vol 16 No 1 April 2004

Downloaded from http://eau.sagepub.com by on November 1, 2008

237

care, emergency services and schools; and a lack of the rule of law and respect for civil and political rights. The lack of knowledge of local contexts by those who define and measure poverty (in part reinforced by the lack of local data on living conditions and basic services), which often leads to questionable assumptions about better living standards in urban areas. The inappropriate concepts used in setting incomebased poverty lines (for instance, in determining the income levels needed for non-food essentials and in making allowances for variations in the costs of nonfood essentials within nations and between nations). Most poverty lines make unrealistically low allowance for non-food needs because this is based on what a set of the poorest households spend on nonfood needs, not on the minimum income they would require to meet their needs or on any assessment of whether their non-food needs are met. The data on what poor households spend on non-food needs is often drawn from national data or rural data, and so considerably understates expenditures in high-cost locations (mostly urban areas). There is also a discussion of the gap between the proportion of urban dwellers said to be poor by official statistics and the proportion who live in poverty in very overcrowded conditions in tenements, cheap boarding houses and illegal settlements where provision for water, sanitation and basic services is very inadequate. This is largely the result of inappropriate judgments made by specialists based in high-income nations, and drawn from concepts developed in these nations. The paper ends with a discussion of how the definition of poverty can be widened to include aspects other than income or consumption, and how this helps identify many more possibilities for poverty reduction and much expanded roles in poverty reduction for local governments, community organizations and local NGOs. It also discusses the changes needed in defining and measuring urban poverty that are required to support this. Poverty and Vulnerability in Dhaka Slums: The Urban Livelihoods Study
Jane A Pryer, 2003, 203 pages. Published by and available from Ashgate Publishing Ltd, Gower House, Croft Road, Aldershot, Hants GU11 3HR, UK; in the USA, Suite 420, 101 Cherry Street, Burlington, VT 05401-4405; web site: http://www.ashgate.com

Different chapters report on the findings regarding livelihood strategies, marital instability, child labour, female workforce and labour, prevalence of ill-health, work-disabling illness, households coping strategies, womens role in managing households material resources, nutritional status, and the management of financial shocks and stresses. The book also has chapters on poverty and vulnerability, and describes the context and the study itself, which included quantitative data collected from a panel of around 850 households and qualitative research within selected slum settlements. The work focused on one of the seven districts (thana) into which Dhaka city is divided, and the whole range of slum settlements are represented, including peri-urban and waterside settlements. Comparisons are also made between the four livelihood groups that emerged in the cluster analysis, namely, the self-employed (generally the richest), casual unskilled, female-headed households and casual skilled. This showed, for instance, the large differences that exist between these groups, not only with respect to income and assets but also with respect to work-disabling illnesses (casual unskilled and female-headed lost most work to illness). The book ends with a discussion of the policy implications of its findings for reducing and alleviating poverty, with the suggested measures having relevance that goes far beyond the slum dwellers of Dhaka. Understanding Urban Poverty: What the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers Tell Us
Diana Mitlin, 2004, IIED Working Paper 13 on Poverty Reduction in Urban Areas, IIED, London. The printed edition can be obtained from http://earthprint.com/ for US$9; an electronic edition may be obtained at no charge from http://www.iied.org/urban/index.html

MANY RESEARCHERS WILL know some of the previous work of this author on disease burdens and their economic costs in Khulna (Bangladesh), especially to low-income households (a summary of this work was published in Environment and Urbanization Vol 5, No 2, 1993). This book reports on the findings of a large household study in Dhaka that looked at poverty and vulnerability in many facets of these households lives.

THIS PAPER REVIEWS 23 recent Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) to consider how they define and measure urban poverty and the extent to which they actually consider urban poverty. Nearly all these papers place a strong emphasis on the relative importance of rural poverty. However, many express concern that their poverty estimates fail to represent fully the situation with respect to urban poverty. Through both narrative and quantitative estimates, they suggest that there are serious pockets of poverty within urban areas, that urban poverty may be increasing, and that inequality may be higher in urban areas than in rural areas. Some of the differences in opinion in these papers regarding the scale and depth of urban poverty relates to differences in how poverty (including urban poverty) is measured. Most PRSPs still rely primarily on incomebased poverty lines to define who is poor. In many nations, a single poverty line is used, with no attempt to take account of the higher monetary income needed to avoid poverty in urban areas, and especially in the larger or more prosperous cities. For nations that

238

Environment&Urbanization Vol 16 No 1 April 2004

Downloaded from http://eau.sagepub.com by on November 1, 2008

Book Notes
include basic-needs measures in their definition of poverty, some use indicators relating to peoples proximity to services, without considering whether these people can actually use these services. urban people. The objective of this particular study is to look at ruralurban differentials in India with regard to household size, fertility and mortality, and sex ratios and literacy, and to relate these trends to such factors as the economy and the levels of urbanization, industrialization and modernization in various Indian states. This rather technical work is primarily a statistical analysis of data from the 1991 census for all districts in the country (except Jammu and Kashmir where the census was not held), although it also consults some secondary sources and provides a brief overview of relevant literature. There are some interesting findings among them the fact that in most districts, rural households are only marginally larger than urban households, and that there are only scant differences in the incidence of joint families. The data, according to the authors, suggest that urban dwellers in India have retained much of their rural lifestyle. Fertility is found in this study to be distinctly lower in urban areas, but this differential has declined in almost all areas, as have fertility rates generally. The pace of decline, however, seems to have little to do with levels of poverty it is not highest, for instance, in states with the highest per capita income. Differentials in mortality rates have also declined, although there is considerable variation among states, and poorer states continue to have comparatively higher mortality rates in both rural and urban areas. Differences in sex ratios have also declined in threefifths of the states, but migration patterns lead to wide regional variations. In general, the authors see a healthy trend towards minimizing ruralurban differences in sex ratios. Significant differences persist, however, in literacy rates. Urban literacy rates are uniformly fairly high. Rural rates tend to be lowest in interior areas, tribal tracts, areas of predominantly subsistence agriculture, and in places where there are high proportions of Muslims and scheduled castes. The text is accompanied by numerous tables and maps although the latter are too small, and their resolution too low, to make them useful.

IX. RESEARCH
Urban Longitudinal Research Methodology: Objectives, Contents and Summary of Issues Raised
Caroline O N Moser, 2003, 101 pages. Joint DPUODIWorld BankDFID Workshop, the Development Planning Unit, University College London, London. Published by and available from DPU, 9 Endsleigh Gardens, London WC1H OED, UK; e-mail: dpu@ucl.ac.uk; web site: www.ucl.ac.uk/dpu

THIS WORKING PAPER includes ten commissioned background papers that provided the basis for a workshop held at the Development Planning Unit in 2003. The workshop provided a comparative review of a range of approaches taken by social scientists doing longitudinal research in poor urban communities in low- and middleincome countries. The objectives were to identify shared methodological issues and to establish an informal network of researchers, with the goal, ideally, of being able to work towards cross-city results in future research. These background papers describe research projects that vary in a number of ways there are both qualitative and quantitative studies, some that are international in scale and some very local, both comparative research projects and studies with a single focus, and they involve a range of disciplines. Some of the issues considered at the workshop were the appropriate timescale for longitudinal research; the inclusion of data from the non-poor (for instance, those with whom the poor interact); the issue of breadth versus depth; the units of analysis used; the representativeness of small-scale studies; issues of attrition and of recall bias; the use of combined methodologies; and various ethical issues.

XI. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Survival for a Small Planet: The Sustainable Development Agenda
Tom Bigg (editor), 2004, 359 pages, ISBN: 1 84407 077 8. Published by and available from Earthscan Publications, 812 Camden High Street, London NW1 0JH, UK; e-mail: earthinfo@earthscan.co.uk; web site: www.earthscan.co.uk; also available in bookstores; price: 65; in the USA, 22883 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA 20166-2012, USA.

X. RURALURBAN
RuralUrban Divide: Changing Spatial Pattern of Social Variables
Sneh Sangwan and Randhir Singh Sangwan, 2003, 264 pages, ISBN: 81-8069-016-4. Published by and available from Concept Publishing Company, A/1516, Commercial Block, Mohan Garden, New Delhi 110 059, India; tel: 091 11 25351460; fax: 091 11 25357103; e-mail: publishing@conceptpub.com

AS THE INTRODUCTION to this book observes, there is a long tradition of distinguishing between rural and

THE PRESENT GENERATION will probably be the last generation that will have the opportunity to make fundamental choices about the future of our people
Environment&Urbanization Vol 16 No 1 April 2004

Downloaded from http://eau.sagepub.com by on November 1, 2008

239

Book Notes
and our planet. The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in Johannesburg in 2002 was an attempt to invite all the leading experts in this field to discuss and brainstorm key decisions. Survival for a Small Planet is an edited collection, post-WSSD, that presents ideas about sustainable development as it affects all major policy fronts, including security, finance, urban governance, migration, health, access to markets and finance. The book is organized in five parts. The first part, on global governance, includes papers that discuss the significance of the Summit, and new targets post-WSSD with respect to globalization, renewable energy, human rights, security, and finance. It also emphasizes the importance of research in the formulation of good international public policy. The second part, on national and local governance, highlights the need for new action and assessment and for strategic planning based on experience and lessons learnt from the past. The third part discusses new approaches to equity and sustainable development in environmental and human rights, partnerships and human health. It also addresses the links between migration and globalization, and the impacts for sustainable development. The fourth part examines the impact of poverty on environment, and looks at how poverty can be reduced through conservation, the sustainable use of resources, good governance and appropriate policies. The last part, on markets and sustainable development, investigates the impact of sustainable agriculture, tourism and mining in achieving the aims of the Local Agenda 21. All these contributions are highlighted with informative case studies, figures, tables and boxes. A free CD-Rom is included, containing the civil society documents from the WSSD process produced by over 500 organizations in 80 countries. This collection is an important resource for researchers, academics and all those involved in implementing sustainability at different levels. Human Development and the Environment: Challenges for the United Nations in the New Millennium
Hans Van Ginkel, Brendan Barrett, Julius Court and Jerry Velasquez (editors), 2002, 313 pages, ISBN: 92 808 1069 3. Published by and available from The United Nations University, 53-70 Jingumae 5-chrome, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 1508925, Japan; e-mail: sales@hq.unu.edu; web site: www.unu.edu

and recommendations on the challenges faced by human development, and on the role of the United Nations in helping to address them. The Conference examined key issues relating to development, environmental conservation, peace, governance, and security at a global level, through presentations outlining policy implications and the recommendations arising from them. The combined participation of governments, researchers and NGOs provided a bridge between the theoretical and the practical in the discussion of problems and solutions. This edited collection looks at the problems, processes and actors that constitute the milieu for both human development and for the environment in the new millennium. Chapters in the first section focus on human development, and highlight the widening economic and social divide following globalization, and the social and political challenges relating to growing poverty. The section also discusses the globalization of science and technology, and the potential impacts and implications for the UN system. Another topic is population growth and demographic change in low- and middle-income countries, and their impact on attempts to achieve sustainable development. Other chapters include lessons from international experience with development cooperation, focusing on the role of institutions in the management of the global economy, and the dynamics of the clash between institutional requirements and the needs and aspirations of the peoples, countries and communities in both North and the South. Environmental change as a result of human activity has increased dramatically in the last decade. The chapters in this second section, on the environment, deal with such issues and problems as climate change and the loss of biodiversity. The authors present the effects of urbanization and industrialization in relation to sustainable development, and point to the need for multi-stakeholder approaches to environmental policy formulation and implementation. The section also includes chapters focusing on water governance, and the worlds energy requirements for the next millennium. Land degradation and its relationship to food insecurity is another issue that is discussed here. The final chapter explores holistic forms of environmental governance, integrated with social and human development concerns. It is concluded that, among existing global institutions, only the UN has the moral legitimacy, global credibility and practical reach to mediate and resolve the competing tensions associated with both the process and the outcomes of globalization.

THE UNITED NATIONS Conference held in Tokyo in January 2000, entitled On the Threshold of the New Millennium recognized a broad consensus that the future success of the United Nations system will have to embrace new thinking and realistic reforms in the context of new and complex challenges. The Conference brought together policy makers, leading thinkers and academics to generate and discuss new insights

XII. TRANSPORT
Partnerships to Improve Access and Quality of Public Transport: Guidelines
M Sohail, D Mitlin and D A C Maunder, 2003, 130 pages, ISBN 1 84380 035 7. Published by and

240

Environment&Urbanization Vol 16 No 1 April 2004

Downloaded from http://eau.sagepub.com by on November 1, 2008

Book Notes
available from the Water, Engineering and Development Centre, Loughborough University, Leicestershire LE11 3TU, UK.

THIS BOOK IS part of a DFID-funded series undertaken by WEDC, which discusses issues of partnership in different sectoral and thematic contexts. This particular book, one of several on transport, looks at the links between public transport and the livelihoods of the poor, setting transport within the sustainable livelihoods approach in other words, considering transport as one of the many linked assets that contribute to households being able to meet their needs. From this perspective, then, transport becomes not simply a way to get to work but also a way to access the services that contribute to securing and improving livelihoods, and to the social relationships which strengthen social capital and can support income generation. Drawing on case studies from Colombo in Sri Lanka, from Faisalabad in Pakistan and from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, the book considers a range of transport problems that especially affect the poor including high transport costs, low availability, slow and unreliable services, poor infrastructure, safety problems and a lack of regulation of increasingly privatized services. Discussion of various problems is enriched by boxes featuring the voices of women, children, the elderly and the disabled. Guidelines for improvement that emerge from these case studies focus on the main improvements to infrastructure that appear to be needed; positive land use and employment strategies that could lower the need for transport; regulation to control the quality, quantity and cost of transport; and various approaches to stakeholder collaboration. The book includes a CD that contains both guidelines and the case reports. Urban Traffic and Transport
Hans Orn, 2003, 24 pages, ISSN 1100-9446. Published by and available from Housing, Development and Management, Lund University, Box 118, S-221 00 LUND, Sweden; e-mail hdm@lth.se; web site: http://www.hdm.lth.se

public and non-motorized transport. Among the issues discussed are the impact of urban transport on various development issues, including the environment, poverty and gender. The author points out that the World Banks recent stance on transport stresses the implications for poverty and inequity rather than its more traditional concern with infrastructure. He outlines two distinctly different approaches to urban transport development the more traditional demandfollowing approach, characterized by declining transport infrastructure, an increase in the number of motorized vehicles and the neglect of public transport; and the supply-leading approach, which involves careful planning, land use and private vehicle control, and an efficient public transport system. Recommendations focus on infrastructure development and traffic management that give priority to public transport systems, public/private partnerships for developing regulated public transport systems, and a recognition of the role of non-motorized transport, along with infrastructure to support it. The three case studies reviewed are Curitiba, with its renowned bus system, Singapore with its very effective methods for restricting private car ownership, and Buffalo City in South Africa which, although not heavily congested, faces a number of transport problems that reinforce existing inequities and that are now being addressed with a new public transport plan from the national government. World Transport Policy and Practice
John Whitelegg, Gary Haq (editors), 2003, 304 pages, ISBN: 1-85383-851-9. Published by and available from Earthscan Publications, 812 Camden High Street, London NW1 0JH, UK; email: earthinfo@earthscan.co.uk; web site: www.earthscan.co.uk; also available in bookstores; price: 19.95; in USA, 22883 Quicksilver Drive, Sterling, VA 20166-2012, USA.

THIS REPORT, ONE of the Building Issues series, addresses the fundamental need for effective urban transport in low-income countries. It reports on the findings of a desk study, which focuses in particular on background material produced when Sida developed an urban transport strategy, and on material developed by the World Bank in its preparation of a revised Urban Transport Sector Strategy Review. The report also draws on the authors extensive experience as a private consultant on the issue of urban transport. It does not dwell on technical solutions but provides an overview of general considerations and recommendations, and draws on three case studies. Given their relevance to poorer countries, the author focuses primarily on

URBAN TRANSPORT PRESENTS a critical challenge for development to develop an efficient model with minimal environmental impact, pollution and health hazards, that is beneficial to the poor but that doesnt encourage the better-off to rely on individual cars. It is not just a technical issue but a very political one. This edited collection provides insight into transport problems around the world through case studies. It first introduces the problem of transport and its effect on the environment, greenhouse gases, air and noise pollution, health problems, traffic accidents and calamities. The remainder of the book is a compilation of chapters highlighting policy frameworks, concerns and progress by region, from Africa, Asia, Australia, Latin America and Europe, and includes tables, figures and boxes with data on, for example, traffic accidents, road density in relation to agricultural land, and per capita vehicle travel in selected countries. The final section presents recommendations and suggestions for addressing these issues.
Environment&Urbanization Vol 16 No 1 April 2004

Downloaded from http://eau.sagepub.com by on November 1, 2008

241

Book Notes

XIIII. URBAN
a. Urban change New Forms of Urbanization: Beyond the UrbanRural Dichotomy
Tony Champion and Graeme Hugo (editors), 2003, 444 pages, ISBN: 0 7546 3588 0. Published by and available from Ashgate Publishing Ltd, Gower House, Croft Road, Aldershot, Hants GU11 3HR, UK; in the USA, Suite 420, 101 Cherry Street, Burlington, VT 054014405; http://www.ashgate.com

THIS BOOK REVIEWS the scale and nature of urban change around the world, and includes chapters on urban change in different regions (including Latin America, Asia and sub-Saharan Africa) and in particular nations and cities (including the United States, Brazil, Mexico and Delhi in India). These contain many interesting analyses. For instance, the chapter on subSaharan Africa presents a convincing case that the region is less urbanized than is suggested by most international urban data sets. The chapter on China discusses the influence of urban definitions on the scale and nature of urban change there. But these and other chapters also seek to go beyond the simplistic and often misleading division of the population (and economic activities) into rural and urban areas. The editors are part of the Working Group on Urbanization formed by the Council of the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP), and their intention with this volume was not only to provide a more detailed and location-specific or region-specific understanding of urban change but also to discuss a better conceptualization and definition of settlement patterns. Thus, many chapters discuss more precise and useful conceptualizations of settlement systems (for instance rethinking rurality and the nature of rurality in post-industrial society) and how these might be operationalized by governments. The volume ends with conclusions and recommendations. Urbanization in India: Sociological Contributors
Ranvinder Singh Sandhu, 2003, 258 pages, ISBN: 81-7829-277-7. Published by and available from Sage Publications India Pvt Ltd, B-42, Panchsheel Enclave, New Delhi 110 017, India; price US$25.

life, institutions and their problems. India is a very stratified society, and the second section focuses on this issue and discusses how the caste system and class behaviour are modified in an urban setting. The third section investigates the responses of neighbourhoods and communities to rapid urbanization, industrialization and the growing influx of migrants, drawing on case studies from cities like Delhi. It also discusses changes to the traditional rural joint family within the urban context. The last section discusses slum dwellers and migrants, and their integration into the urban setting. This volume highlights emerging problems, and would be useful not only to those concerned with India but also to anyone interested in urbanization, human settlements and planning. b. Urban conservation Historic Cities and Sacred Sites: Cultural Roots for Urban Futures
Ismail Serageldin, Ephim Shluger, Joan MartinBrown, 2001, 420 pages, ISBN: 0-8213-4904-X. Published by and available from the World Bank, 1818 H Street N.W. Washington DC 20433, USA; e-mail books@worldbank.org www.worldbank.org

ALTHOUGH INDIA IS still one of the least urbanized countries, it currently has the second largest urban population in the world. This book, one of a series of volumes published by the Indian Sociological Society, brings together the perspectives of various scholars on the process of urbanization in India. The book has four sections. The first presents various definitions of and perspectives on urbanization, and includes work conducted on different aspects of urban

MOST OF THE historic sites on the World Heritage list are located in the urban areas of Africa, Asia and Latin America, where the combination of growing populations and inadequate infrastructure presents particular challenges for preservation. This book investigates the consequences of overpopulation and poverty for historic cities and sacred sites. It contributes to a better understanding of the importance of these sites, emphasizes the necessity for including social and cultural dimensions in economic development, and offers examples of good practice. The book begins with a discussion of the main problems in preserving the historic cities and sacred sites. It examines the complex origins and rich legacy of religious symbolism attached to many historic structures, and uses design principles to make a comparative analysis of them. It goes on to discuss planning and management issues related to sustainable heritage preservation, focusing on a range of policies and strategies adopted in Brazil, Norway, the United States, the Netherlands, North Africa and the Middle East. All cases point to the importance of a decentralization of responsibilities from central to local agencies, and to the promotion of private sector involvement, although the role of government in creating an enabling environment for private investors and community action is stressed, along with the importance of publicprivate partnerships. The importance of integrating traditional cultural values and beliefs (related to the sites in question) into policy regulations and the enforcement of laws is also emphasized. The book considers a variety of options and innova-

242

Environment&Urbanization Vol 16 No 1 April 2004

Downloaded from http://eau.sagepub.com by on November 1, 2008

Book Notes
tive approaches to conserving, renovating and transforming sites and to preserving urban built heritage and cultural landscape, using case studies from China, Brazil, India, Zanzibar and Italy. In most cases, the deterioration of monuments is attributed to either a decline in economic vitality, destructive effects of urban renewal or the lack of implementation of existing policies. Documentation is discussed as an instrument to manage changes in historic buildings. Methods used in England and Japan for surveying, valuing and documenting heritage assets are used to illustrate approaches. The book is very well illustrated with pictures, sketches and figures. c. Urban form La Otra Arquitectura. Los Consultorios de Vivienda y Habitat (The Other Architecture. Community Housing and Planning Consultancy Services)
Ruben Gazzoli (editor), 2003, 139 pages, ISBN 9871135262. Published by Juan OGorman Libreras and available from Librera Tcnica, Buenos Aires, Argentina; tel. +54 11 43146303; email: ventas@nobuko.com.ar, www.cp67.com

their own housing. Most chapters focus on Argentinas experiences, some dating back to the mid-1970s, a time when, under a military junta, social housing received no priority in government programmes but, rather, there were heavy-handed mass evictions from highpriced central locations and frequent land invasions in peripheral areas. Two chapters recount the experience of Cubas Community Architects. At the core of this programme launched at a time of economic crisis following the collapse of the Soviet Union, in order to more adequately respond to severe housing shortages that the state-supplied blocks so dear to socialist systems were unable to meet is a number of architects employed by the state to support communities and individuals in a flexible, tailor-made manner. One final chapter discusses how the Cuban experience was adapted to the Uruguayan context. Mpasatia A Town in Ghana: Tales of Architecture and Planning
Jrgen Andreasen, Jrgen Eskemose and Anette Lodberg Schmidt (editors), 237 pages, ISBN: 87 87 136 56 2. Published by and available from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture Publishers, Arkitektens Forlag, Strandgade 27A, 1401 Kbenhavn K, Denmark; e-mail: eksp@arkitektens-forlag.dk

IN THE WORDS of one of the contributors to this short volume, up until about 250 years ago, architects only served the interests of kings, princes and bishops. Their work for more ordinary clients is a relatively recent phenomenon. In Latin America today, architects are able to sell their services only to a very small proportion of people who build, convert or extend their houses. In Uruguay, for example, of the 69 per cent of the population that undertook some construction work in the second half of the 1990s, a mere 6 per cent used the services of an architect. And yet, universities throughout the continent continue to produce professionals whose main aspiration is to work for an individual or corporate client with a private budget. In societies severely marked by legalism, the inhabitants of Latin American cities have dealings with lawyers all too often. And yet, few people know of the existence of architecture as a profession that might be of any use to them. The vast majority of the hundreds of thousands of new dwellings erected every year in middle- and low-income settlements have no input whatsoever from qualified architects; they are, instead, the result of peoples own ingenuity, with the occasional use of skilled labour such as that of masons or plumbers. This book transcribes the presentations at a workshop held at the University of Buenos Aires. It consists of ten short chapters documenting the experiences of architects who, over the past two decades or so, have been involved in supporting low-income communities and individuals in building, improving or expanding

THIS BOOK IS the outcome of the work of sixteen Scandinavian students of architecture, landscape architecture and geography, who came to the small traditional town of Mpasatia in Ghana to investigate a range of urban architectural and planning issues. The study is linked to a GhanaianDanish research project funded by Danida, and focuses on district and urban planning in the context of democratization and community participation. The project placed more emphasis on ethnographic methods and analysis than it did on developing designed projects. The outcome is 13 essays on urbanism in contemporary Africa. The final product grows out of a close interaction between the students and community members, including local leaders and other stakeholders, and involved a learning process for all participants. The students perceptions of the situation, as well as their proposals to solve the identified problems have, apparently, been very helpful to the community of Mpasatia. The introductory chapter consists of a diary documenting the programme and the journey, and highlights the most important issues for the study as a whole and the problems the group had to face. This first section also includes a profile of Mpasatia and a short summary of the students work, which is then described in detail in the following 13 chapters. The case studies, presented and illustrated with pictures, maps and sketches, vary in terms of topic and scale, but nearly all of them combine development, planning and architectural perspectives. A few of the issues covered
Environment&Urbanization Vol 16 No 1 April 2004

Downloaded from http://eau.sagepub.com by on November 1, 2008

243

Book Notes
include the classic courtyard house, migration, urban furniture, planning and commercial space, public space, the meaning and significance of trees, and (piped) water. Small Enterprises and Water Provision in Kibera, Nairobi
Munguti Katui-Katua and Gordon McGranahan, 2002, 38 pages, ISBN: 1 84380 002 0.Public Private Partnerships and the Poor, Water, Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC), Loughborough. Published by and available from the Water, Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC), Loughborough University, Leicestershire LE11 3TU, UK.

XIV. WATER AND SANITATION

Independent Water Entrepreneurs in Latin America. The Other Private Sector in Water Services
Tova Solo, The World Bank Water and Sanitation Programme, 2003, 36 pages. Available as a pdf file from http://www.wsp.org/pdfs/sa

THIS BOOK IS a summary of the findings of field studies on the role of small water providers that were undertaken by the World Bank Water and Sanitation Programme (WSP) in six Latin American countries: Paraguay, Argentina, Colombia, Guatemala, Peru and Bolivia. The publication underlines the importance of small-scale service providers in the context of privatizing public sector utilities, especially with regard to their capabilities in providing water supply and sanitation services (WSS) to those hitherto neglected the poor households in urban and peri-urban areas. The study stresses the need for a conducive and regulatory framework that integrates all the different water providers investing in WSS in cities, to allow households the freedom to choose those providers that can best meet their needs. This is of particular importance in the light of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), as small-scale service providers are critical to achieving the set targets. Bearing in mind that the overall aim is to provide adequate and affordable access to poor households, the author of this report encourages sector practitioners to be open and receptive about solutions to increase water services. These field studies focused on water and left out sanitation due to time constraints. The chosen cases were based in different hydrological, economic and legal environments, particularly with regard to regulatory frameworks, which explains why such a variety of service providers is discussed. The main distinction here is that between mobile providers (e.g. through tanks and trucks) and fixed networks. The study analyzes different survival strategies of small-scale enterprises, pointing out the benefits of competition and free entry, but at the same time illustrating the costs of lacking formal recognition and support. The report, which includes presentations and discussions from a cross-country workshop held in Colombia in 1999, covers such issues as the importance, efficiency and effectiveness of small-scale providers, obstacles for scaling up and upgrading the services provided, competition strategies and coping strategies. There is also a section looking at the changes in policy that are needed to improve performance and benefit consumers.

THIS REPORT REVIEWS the experience of a large water project in Kibera, Nairobi. At the time of writing, the project as a whole had failed, and this failure is used to illustrate the dangers of engaging in ostensibly participatory processes when the decision to stop the project can be made unilaterally, with no consultation or transparency. Not all of the lessons are negative however. Following a brief introduction providing background on Kibera and the residents views of private sector participation in water provision, the report describes the project and stakeholders involvement, which ranged from residents negotiating where the pipes should be laid, to proposals to establish a water sellers association. The report then examines some of the challenges facing publicprivate partnerships in Kibera, touching on issues that are widely debated internationally, such as land tenure, costrecovery, private-sector participation, local participation. In almost every case, the most important local issues turn out to be quite different from those that are debated in the international arena. Basic Service Provision for the Urban Poor: The Experience of Development Workshop in Angola
Allan Cain, Mary Daly and Paul Robson, 2002, 40 pages. IIED Working Paper 8 on Poverty Reduction in Urban Areas. The printed edition can be obtained from http://earthprint.com/ for US$9; an electronic edition may be obtained at no charge from http://www.iied.org/urban/index.html

THIS PAPER DESCRIBES the water and sanitation programmes that the NGO Development Workshop has developed in Luanda over the last 15 years, working with community organizations, local government and the official water and sanitation agencies. These had to be built within a city where the population was growing rapidly, in part due to war forcing people to flee rural areas in a country which had had more than 40 years of conflict and economic decline. Incomes are also too low to allow conventional solutions, yet there was no tradition of community provision (and government agencies were wary of working with community organizations). The paper describes how the NGO Development Workshop began work in Angola in 1981, at the invitation of the Angolan government, and how it helped set

244

Environment&Urbanization Vol 16 No 1 April 2004

Downloaded from http://eau.sagepub.com by on November 1, 2008

Book Notes
up a programme to upgrade musseques (peri-urban squatter areas). A pilot project for water and sanitation in one such musseque developed into a larger programme after political changes in Angola in 1990, which allowed the emergence of community associations and NGOs. Water and sanitation were important components of the work because of the priority given them by residents (and because residents could manage housing construction individually but not water and sanitation). The project demonstrated two viable approaches to improving provision: communitymanaged public standpipes and family dry-pit latrines. It also demonstrated how an NGO could support residents groups in developing and managing these models and also how to bring in government organizations (even if they were weak and lacking in funding). It also made clear the need for models for water supply and sanitation that could be managed and funded within the community. The paper then describes the larger water and sanitation programmes that developed, based on these approaches.

Downloaded from http://eau.sagepub.com by on November 1, 2008

Environment&Urbanization Vol 16 No 1 April 2004

245